The Royal Countryside Fund launches new support for Northern Ireland’s farmers at the Balmoral Show
May 19, 2025
The Royal Countryside Fund (RCF) launched new support for farmers in Northern Ireland at the 2025 Balmoral Show. Farmers in Northern Ireland can now register for the RCF’s free-to-access soil health programme ‘Savings in Soil’, supported by McDonald's UK and Ireland.
To date, the Savings in Soil programme has supported over 120 family farms across England and Wales to better understand their soil health and how healthy soil can benefit both the environment and the resilience of their business. Over 78% of attending farmers are now making changes to their soil management as a result of the workshop, impacting thousands of hectares of UK farmland.
The announcement was made by the RCF’s Executive Director, Keith Halstead, at an RCF breakfast reception for local farmers, kindly hosted by NFU Mutual’s Chairman, Jim McLaren on their stand at the show. At the event, Claire Saunders and Bronagh O’Kane, from the Northern Irish regenerative agriculture festival Fields Good, were joined by Mark Palmer from the Soil Association Exchange, to discuss the importance of soil and how regenerative agriculture can benefit Northern Irish farmers.
Attending farmers received a copy of the RCF’s practical guide to soil health and addressed questions to the panel.
NFU Mutual has been hosting breakfast receptions for The Royal Countryside Fund at the Balmoral Show since 2018, to aid the recruitment of farmers to its resilience programmes. The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has also been a longstanding donor and supporter of the RCF, as has NFU Mutual, for which the RCF is most grateful.
To register your interest for the Soils programme, access free resources and watch our short film on soil health, click here.
Later in the day the RCF team attended the Marks and Spencer Select Farm Awards, where Emma Little-Pengelly, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, presented the RCF Family Farm Award. The awards, run by the RCF’s longstanding partner, M&S, celebrate exceptional M&S Select Farms across the UK.
The Compston family (pictured above), who run Ratarnet Eggs, accepted the award at a special reception on the M&S show stand. The family were recognised for their deep-rooted commitment to sustainability, animal welfare, and community-focused farming.
Keith Halstead, Executive Director, The Royal Countryside Fund, said: “I am very happy to see the Compston family receive this very well-deserved award, recognising their outstanding work. The Royal Countryside Fund turns 15-years-old this year and finding ways to farm in harmony with nature is more important to the countryside now than it’s ever been. It’s exciting to see family farms like the Compston’s lead the way and show that good environmental stewardship can go hand-in-hand with productive farming and building a more resilient farm business.”
“As we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we also want to say a massive thank you to everyone at M&S who have supported our charity since 2010, demonstrating their continuing commitment to our partnership helping farmers to build a resilient future.”
Cara and James Compston said: “Farming has always been a way of life for our family, and we’re proud to build on the foundations set by James and Matthew’s parents. Winning this award means so much to us — it’s a real encouragement to keep doing what we love, and a reminder of the important role that small family farms play in feeding the nation and looking after our countryside.”
The Balmoral Show also provided an opportunity for Keith Halstead and RCF trustee, Janet McCollum, to meet with Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir.
At the meeting they discussed the RCF’s work in Northern Ireland and the practical, grounded support that the charity provides for farming families to work in harmony with nature and to build a strong, sustainable farm business.
Members of the RCF team also met with Rural Support, a farm support group and RCF local delivery partner, that does vital work in Northern Ireland to support family farms and rural communities.
The RCF has been a longstanding supporter of Rural Support, most recently awarding the charity £45,000 over three years to provide more help for family farms across Northern Ireland, to help them weather economic difficulties and combat the rural mental health crisis.
The RCF team would like to extend their thanks to everyone from NFU Mutual, Rural Support, the Soil Association Exchange, Fields Good, Marks & Spencer, and all the attending farmers for their steadfast support of the charity and for providing such a warm welcome at the Balmoral Show – the first agricultural show of the season.
